Government will appoint on Thursday Carlos Ocaña Orbis as Executive Director in Telephone at the proposal of the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI). Ocaña, who currently worked as a manager at Real Madrid, is a trusted person of Pedro Sánchez. In fact, he is co-author, along with the president, of the book he develops the controversial thesis by Sánchez, published in 2013.
Sources familiar with the situation have confirmed to 20 minutes that The SEPI will send the proposal to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) on Wednesday of appointment. SEPI—the investment arm of the State—has the right to a seat on the company’s board of directors, given that it already owns 6.5% of the company’s capital.
The Government gave orders to the SEPI to increase their participation in the company progressively until reaching 10%which would make the State the main shareholder of the company ahead of BBVA, CriteriaCaixa (the holding company investor of La Caixa) and the Saudi ‘teleco’ STC. It was precisely the entry into Telefónica’s shareholding of the company owned by the Saudi sovereign fund that prompted the Government to intervene in the company, considered strategic due to its defense contracts.
Carlos Ocaña Orbis is an old acquaintance of the president. Ocaña He served as chief of staff of Miguel Sebastián during his time as Minister of Industry (2008-2011), although he had previously been deputy chief of staff of Zapatero’s economic office between 2004 and 2008. He has also been part of the board of directors of Red.es—the Spanish public company specialized in digital transformation—and has worked for the Prisa group. Currently, he worked as a manager at Real Madrid, where he played a prominent role in the white club’s digital strategy.
